Lockdown on the Bryson Line

Week 1 of 2021 - Introduction

Locked down again and going mad.  I'm not particularly good at sticking to an exercise routine - seem to get bored too easily with running (after a couch-to-5km) and cycling (which I tend to do with the kids).  But I do enjoy walking, whatever the weather, headphones in and listening to an audiobook or podcast.  Anyone that lives near me will probably spot me doing laps of the village every few days - we have an old railway line near our home that's a good straight line for several kilometres, some good cross-field footpaths with views towards Leicester city centre, and a nearby hill looking down into a quarry. But with the lockdowns and homeworking of 2020, I've done these loops around the villages many times.... so I wondered about a change and a new challenge.  Not that there's anything I can do right now, in the middle of #Lockdown3.

One of the amazing audiobooks I listened to in 2020 was Bill Bryson's Road to Little Dribbling, which saw him taking the route from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath, a straight-line route that spans England and Scotland (the longest straight line one can travel in the UK without crossing any part of the sea, which he calls the Bryson Line).  If you draw a straight line between the two (916 km), it passes within 2.8 km of the very centre of England.  

That's right here in Leicestershire, at Lindley Hall Farm, 1.5 km east of Fenny Drayton and 5 km north of Nuneaton.   The farm is part of the former RAF Lindley (1943-46) airfield, named after the farm which itself was named after the former Lindley Hall.  According to Wikipedia, a plaque denoting this point, and disputing England's "traditional" centre as being Meriden in the West Midlands, was erected by Ordnance Survey on 14 June 2013.  This also right next to MIRA, the Motor Industry Research Association, an automotive engineering and development consultancy company that uses the old airfield.

It's also only 7.3 km from where I grew up, in Hinckley in Leicestershire.  

So that feels like a meaningful-enough starting point for this fairly pointless blog post.  Armed with Strava recording my movements, Google Maps as a guide to the Bryson Line from Lindley Hall Farm, and Wikipedia for place names, I wondered how far I would get without actually leaving Leicestershire.

Week 2 12.69 km (12.69 km so far)

Embarking on the Bryson Line from the dead centre of England.  Past Sibson, ending up in a field between Sheepy Magna and Wellsborough at 52.62015, -1.49456.  I'm in the civil parish of Sheepy, created in 1935 from the merger of the four civil parishes of Sheepy Magna, Sheepy Parva, Sibson and Upton.  Right through the centre of Twycross, home to the incredible Zoo that I've visited many times with my family, and which has the largest collection of monkeys and apes in the Western World.  Still in Leicestershire for now.  I end up outside a place called the Upper Rectory Farm Cottages in Appleby Magna, which (according to Wikipedia) lies on the edge of the ancient boundary between the kingdom of Mercia and the Danelaw.

Week 3 18.9 km         (31.59 km so far)

Appleby Magna to Shortheath, near to the Forestry Commission's Hicks Lodge (good for cycling) and Conkers, in the middle of the National Forest (200 square miles of north Leicestershire, south Derbyshire and southeast Staffordshire planted in an attempt to blend ancient woodlands together into a new forest).  Also passed close to Moira Furnace, a nineteenth-century iron-making blast furnace.  The Leicestershire county line follows the Hooborough Brook here, so I guess I've officially left Leicestershire and arrived in Derbyshire.  Properly passing into Derbyshire now, and heading for the centre of Swadlingcote, still within the National Forest.  According to Wikipedia, shallow valleys and ridges, shaped particularly by the mining activity which once dominated the area as the Leicestershire and South Derbyshire Coalfield, seams from the Upper Carboniferous age.

Week 4 28.47 km (60.06 km so far)

Northwest from Swadlingcote towards Burton-on-Trent, crossing the River Trent and the River Dove near to where the two rivers meet, during a 7.6 km walk in the morning. Finished just past a railway line, then a 7.3-km cycle onwards across Derby Airfield, to the east side of Hilton, through the Hilton Gravel Pits Nature Reserve, to finish in fields near Sutton on the Hill.  Over the fields from Sutton on the Hill towards Hollington, now getting to the north of Derby. 

Continuing through Derbyshire, from Hollington, past Shirley, and on to stop just east of Osmaston.  Crossed over a deer park at the east end of Osmaston park (looks like a wedding venue), just before crossing the A52 to Derby.  From Osmaston through fields to the east of Ashbourne, ending near Offcote Grange holiday cottages.  Ashbourne is at the southern end of the Peak District, and sometimes referred to as the gateway to the national park, being close to Dovedale.From Ashbourne to the village of Parwich, now properly into the Peak District National Park, Britain's first national park in 1951.  

The Peak District it is usually split into the Dark Peak, where most moorland is found and the geology is gritstone, and the White Peak, a limestone area, known for valleys and gorges that cut through the limestone plateau.  I'm in the White Peak area, passed about 4km east of the famous Dovedale limestone valley and the stepping stones across the River Dove, easily reached from the National Trust Ilam estate (we've walked there a few times in the past).  I have about 65 km to do through the Peak District.

Week 5 23.56 km (83.62 km so far)

Following the A515 through the southern Peak District, from Parwich to Monyash, about 7km west of Bakewell, home of the famous tarts and on the River Wye.  On over the A6, past Taddington in the Peak District, finishing right next to the Taddington Brewery (home of Moravka Lager, a Czech pilsner). On past Millers Dale, a beauty spot and valley over the River Wye, with more stepping stones across.  I'm about 6km east of Buxton, right in the heart of the Peak District.  Over the Monsal Trail and it's viaducts.  The trail is constructed from a section of the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway.

Week 6 30.66 km (114.28 km so far)

Passed about 3 km west of Mam Tor, and ended near a place called Brown Knoll (about 540m up) on the way to Kinder Scout.  Mam Tor is a 517 m hill near Castleton, on the southern edge of the Dark Peak (sandstones) and overlooks the White Peak (limestones).  Brown Knoll is one of the highest hills in the Peak District at 569 m, above the head of the Edale valley.  It's now the end of January, and I've made it 92.6 km in total, and I'm about 25 km west of Sheffield.  From Brown Knoll, just south of Kinder Scout near Edale, north over Torside Reservoir, Yeoman Hay Reservoir, and finishing on the Holmfirth Road, at the very northern edge of the Peak District, the region known as the Dark Peak.

Week 7 31.36 km (145.64 km so far)

Leaving the Peak District, crossing the M62 between Huddersfield and Rochdale, passing 4 km west of Hebden Bridge and Hardcastle Crags (Pennine valley in West Yorkshire), and finishing on Boulsworth Hill, a large expanse of moorland, the highest point of the South Pennines of south-eastern Lancashire.

Week 8 26.55 km (172.19 km so far)

From Boulsworth Hill, continuing to the west of Skipton, and entering the Yorkshire Dales National Park.  Finished near Malham Cove, a curved limestone formation in North Yorkshire.

Week 9 50.71 km (222.9 km so far)

Continuing over the Yorkshire Dales from Malham Moor, through North Yorkshire, past the Ribblehead Viaduct, and finishing near the Great Asby Scar Nature Reserve, a limestone pavement in Cumbria.  After Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, and Lancashire, Cumbria will be the last English county on this trip.

Week 10 23.52 km (246.42 km so far)

From Asby we leave the Yorkshire Dales behind, skirting up the western edge of the North Pennines AONB (second largest of the 49 AONBs in the UK), crossing the River Eden and finishing near the village of Blencarn, a Cumbria village about 6 km west of Cross Fell (highest mountain in the Pennines, 893 m).  Now a few km east of Penrith on the eastern edge of the Lake District, but this route never quite takes me into the Lakes.  

Week 11 27.27 km     (273.69 km so far)

Skirting the western edge of the North Pennines AONB, just leaving the area to finish near Talkin Tarn, about 14 km east of Carlisle.  Talkin Tarn is a glacial lake and country park near Brampton, Cumbria.  Passed through Geltsdale, and its RSPB reserve.

Week 12 28.5 km     (302.19 km so far)

After 300 km, I'm finally passing over the England-Scotland border near Kershopefoot, a small hamlet in Cumbria at the western edge of Kielder Forest Park, the largest human-made woodland in England.  Here the border follows the loops of Liddel Water.  Liddel Water's source is beneath Peel Fell in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders, and flows into the River Esk at Willow Pool.  Finished near the village of Ettleton.  Ettleton is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former Roxburghshire.  Here at the border, I'm about 30 km east of the Solway Coast AONB, but 87 km west of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Route from the Scottish Borders to Edinburgh.

Week 13 32.90 km        (335.09 km so far)

First week properly in Scotland, walking from Ettleton, via Teviothead on the A7 (Carlisle to Edinburgh), skirting the eastern edge of Craik Forest (a forest near Hawick in the Scottish Borders area), and finishing a kilometre west of Hellmoor Loch.  This is the Scottish Uplands, southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas (the others being the Central Lowlands and the Highlands).

Week 14 22.53 km (357.62 km so far)

Continuing through the Scottish Uplands, across Ettrick Water, Yarrow Water, and finishing very close to the River Tweed in the Cardrona Forest on the A72.  The Tweed flows 97 miles through the Scottish Border regions into the North Sea at Berwick.

Week 15 27.73 km (385.35 km so far)

Onwards through the Tweed Valley Forest Park, past Portmore Reservoir near Westloch.  Leaving the Southern Uplands to enter the Central Lowlands. Through Penicuik (a town in Midlothian on the west bank of the River North Esk) and into the Pentland Hills Regional Park, to finish near Capelaw Hill.  The Pentland Hills run southwest from Edinburgh, so I'm on the outskirts of the Scottish capital now, and apparently there are great views of the city from this hill.

Week 16 26.12 km (411.47 km so far)

Departing the Pentland Hills, and descending through the suburbs of Edinburgh, here I hit a problem.  The only bit of this route crossing water, hitting the Firth of Forth just west of the Cramond Causeway, and east of the Forth Bridge, the 130-year old symbol of Scotland.  After a swim, back on land near Dalgety Bay.  Now in Fife, and continuing east of Dumfermline, before finishing on a hill just west of the Hill of Beath.

Week 17 31.3 km         (442.77 km so far)

Travelling northwards through a country of locks, passing just west of Loch Leven (the largest lowland loch in Scotland) near Kinross.  Just over the River Earn, finishing just southwest of Perth on the River Tay, the historic county town of Perthshire.  I'll be in the County of Perth for quite some time

Week 18 27.17 km (469.94 km so far)

From near to Perth, heading towards the centre of the County of Perth, loosely following the path of the River Tay, and into the Tay Forest Park, just to the west of the Hermitage, Dunkeld, a National Trust of Scotland site.  Now properly into the Highlands.

Week 19 24.77 km (494.71 km so far)

Continuing through the Highlands and Tay Forest Park, over the Rivers Tay and Tummel (east of Loch Tummel), through Killiecrankie, ending on a hill east of Croftmore.  This is just inside of the Cairngorms National Park, which was already the largest national park in the UK, when in 2010 it was expanded into Perth and Kinross.

Week 20 24.48 km (519.19 km so far)

Looks like a challenging hike through the Cairngorms National Park, finishing about 20km west of Ben Macdui (1309 m), the second highest mountain in Scotland (and all of the British Isles) after Ben Nevis, and the highest in the Cairngorms.  The mountains are in the eastern Highlands, a high plateaux at about 1000–1200 m above sea level, above which domed summits rise to around 1300 m.

Week 21 43.84 km        (563.03 km so far)

From the Cairngorms National Park, finishing in Inverarnie, about 9 km east of Loch Ness.  The Loch is approximately 37 km southwest of Inverness, and is the second largest loch in Scotland by area (after Loch Lomond).  I'm now basically crossing a a geological fault known as the Great Glen Fault, which bisects the Scottish Highlands into the Grampian Mountains to the southeast and the Northwest Highlands to the northwest.

Week 22 30.12 km        (593.15 km so far)

Ten kilometres right into the heart of Inverness, where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth. It's the largest city and the cultural capital of the Scottish Highlands.  Then getting my feet wet as I cross Beauly Firth just west of Kessock Bridge, and finally Cromarty Firth just to the east of Cromarty Bridge, making landfall at Drummond.  I'm now on the final 115 km of my journey through the Highlands to Cape Wrath.

Week 23 15.98 km (609.13 km so far)

Embarking on my last few miles now, leaving Drummand and travelling northwest, a few miles west of the Fyrish Monument (which represents the Gate of Negapatam, a port in Madras, India, which General Munro took for the British in 1781) and east of Loch Morie.  I'm travelling through a region called Easter Ross, a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.

Week 24 51.81 km (660.94 km so far)

Continuing through the Highlands, and crossing the Kyle of Sutherland near Altass.  This is a big river that that separated Sutherland from Ross-shire, old Scottish counties that eventually became the Highland Region.  Passing west of Loch Shin, and then across the Loch to finish at a place called Merkland Lodge (near Loch Merkland, in a very mountainous region with peaks on all sides).  Sutherland is the last historic county I'll be travelling through, a rugged and sparsely populated region.

Week 25 49.2 km      (710.14 km so far)

The final mark to Cape Wrath, passing through the mountainous regions of Sutherland.  Very few people here, just wilderness and mountains.  The remote far northwest point of Sutherland, Cape Wrath, is also the most northwesterly point in Scotland.  The cape is separated from the rest of the mainland by the Kyle of Durness and consists of 280 square kilometres of moorland wilderness known as the Parph.  The name Cape Wrath is derived from Old Norse hvarf ("turning point"), which I suppose is apt for the end of this imaginary journey.

The final leg of the journey, north of Inverness, through Sutherland and on to Cape Wrath.

Finish Line

After more than 700 km on foot, and over a hundred short walks since New Years Day 2021, I've now made it to June 2021.  Lots of audiobooks and podcasts have been consumed, the evenings have gone from being dark and cold, to bright and warm.  Plus I've learned a little about the north of the UK, with a little appreciation for the distances involved.  I've been working from home the entire time, so these near-daily outings have given me some exercise and kept me sane during the strangest of years.  

Now I guess I've reached a turning point, I best head home.